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Summary Violence flared as small groups in the march peeled away from the route to challenge riot police.
Anti-government protesters flooded a main highway in a march stretching for miles and security forces fired tear gas in breakaway clashes Friday as Bahrains leaders struggled to contain opposition anger while under the worlds spotlight as the island nation hosts the Formula One Grand Prix.The government allowed the massive demonstration in an apparent bid to avoid the hit-and-run street battles that are the hallmark of the Gulf nations 14-month uprising and an embarrassing spectacle for Bahrains Western-backed rulers as F1 teams prepare for Sundays race.But violence flared as small groups in the march peeled away from the route to challenge riot police, who answered with volleys of tear gas and stun grenades. Some protesters sought refuge in a mall and nearby shops about 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the Formula One track, where practice runs took place and Bahrains crown prince vowed the countrys premier international event would go ahead.Last year, a wave of anti-government protests by the islands Shiite majority and a crackdown by the Sunni rulers forced organizers to cancel the 2011 Bahrain GP. At least 50 people have been killed since the start of Bahrains uprising the longest-running in the Arab Spring which seeks a greater political voice for Shiites and to weaken the near monopoly of the Sunni dynasty that has ruled for more than 200 years.We demand democracy and Down, Down Hamad, chanted some of the tens of thousands of opposition supporters in reference to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, as they massed on the main highway leading out of the capital, Manama. Bahrains monarchy is the main backer of the F1 race, and the crown prince owns rights to the event.Hours before the march, Bahrains most senior Shiite cleric, Sheik Isa Qassim, delivered a strongly worded sermon that denounced authorities for making dozens of arrests of suspected dissidents in recent weeks. He called the intensified crackdowns before the F1 event as if we are entering a war.Bahrains rulers lobbied hard to stage this years Grand Prix as part of attempts to portray stability in the strategic kingdom, which is home to the U.S. Navys 5th Fleet. On the opposite side, rights groups and others campaigned to keep the race away, citing the relentless pressures by security forces and the imprisonment of opposition figures including a Shiite political activist on a more than a two-month-long hunger strike.The U.S.-based group Physicians for Human Rights, also said it was concerned about the near daily use of tear gas in Bahrain, including in crowded urban areas and homes, and its possible long-term health consequences, including increased rates of miscarriages and birth defects.
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